It seems like the above song by The Script has never been as relevant as it is now…
I’m writing this blog post provoked by recent events happening mainly in the US (Capitol riots supporting outgoing US President Donald Trump) but echoing elsewhere on a global scale simultaneously, given the enormous impact this nation and its agenda have on the whole world. I was wondering if it’s a good idea to express an opinion on the matter, as my core principle of being impartial to the politics makes me intentionally and cautiously avoiding sharing views on any politician or party behind them.
Firstly, I’ve never seen myself as a very well-informed and genuinely interested in politics person in order to share an opinion and guide anyone’s point of view in a certain direction. Frankly, I have never supported any political party or representative as I don’t generally believe this type of elite is reputable and moral enough to gain my trust, sympathy and approval. I don’t believe in separation of any kind, be it by religion, political preferences, ethnicity, sexual orientation, dogs vs. cats – you name it. What I do believe is there are extremely easy ways to deliberately (and so far successfully) misinform people and divide them into separate, and often opposite, segments, thus creating artificial polarisation aimed to effortlessly ‘divide and rule’ (a very well-known technique since the ancient Roman times) the population (the global one, not one associated with a specific country).
Secondly, exactly for the reasons outlined above (divide being a successfully pushed model among people) I expect this post to be met with a dose of criticism, disagreement and disappointment – at least by some. There will be people who will object to any of this as they would genuinely believe a certain opinion (ironically, most of the times it would be the one they have) deserves more appreciation than another, and that a specific idea is more worthy compared to another.
Regardless of this, what I seem to be unable to comprehend is people’s inability to simply ACCEPT themselves, others and circumstances just the way they are. In the end, how difficult could it be to agree to disagree? And how much power should one have to impose their own beliefs over other people’s, to “show them who’s boss”? And in the end, who’s to say what’s actually right and wrong, given each individual has their own opinion (meaning there could potentially be over 7.8 billions viewpoints in the world currently)? These thoughts have been crossing my mind for years, but even more so around the recent events in the US.
The last straw was raised concerns about the potential of a favourite music band of mine falling apart because of one of the members’ political views (and as a domino effect, fans getting divided respectively). Brian Littrell from the Backstreet Boys asked his followers on Twitter to join the controversial social media Parler (an app that recently gained popularity among far-right supporters after Trump’s official account was banned on Twitter, Facebook and other popular sites).
Funnily enough, the post was published on fellow band member AJ McLean’s birthday (and just a day before that day, AJ posted a picture holding a cup clearly showing support for Joe Biden).
Being a fan since 2005 (yeah, yeah, very late – I know), I refuse to believe something stupid and volatile like politics could stand in the way of any joint music projects by the guys or the departure of any of the bandmates in the near or distant future.
So… all of this madness got me thinking – what is really going on? I am confused. I cannot believe people (including pop stars) can be so passionate about their own political views, that they’d give them the privilege to drive their actions into separation from things and people they otherwise cherish. What makes politics (or any other controversial topic for that matter – ethnical identity, sexual orientation, etc.) so strong that it has the power to break up things that naturally and innately bring us together?
And this is where the confusion deep within me comes from. As human beings, we all have an enormous set of similarities ingrained in us. Biologically and physiologically speaking, there are not so many differences between us so we don’t generally stand out from anyone else (regardless of how much one might want to outshine others). We all have the same organs (albeit in different state and various genetic predisposition to illnesses) and physics laws apply to each and every one of us in the same way. We all have been born as human beings, breathing the same air, needing more or less the same amount of water and food to survive. Most of us also are fortunate enough to know and have people we care about in our lives, so emotions relating to these people are also experienced in a similar way – falling in love, missing someone, worrying about how they are, and so forth.
“United we stand, divided we fall” is probably one of my favourite phrases in the whole world and I’m happy the country I come from (Bulgaria) has the essence of it as its national slogan – “Unity makes strength” (or, in Bulgarian: “Съединението прави силата”; transcription: saedinenieto pravi silata). Yes, it is a cliché which only proves its truity. So I think it should be not only my nation’s motto, but the world’s one too. Do you happen to agree?
There is no such thing as skin colour, religion, political or sexual preference, or any other marker, that is so big to serve as an excuse to hate, hurt, belittle, harass or disrespect anyone else out there. Why are we lying to ourselves and reject our true human nature (which has helped us survive for millennia) – nature of being empathetic and nurturing, caring and thinking about fellow humans, nature of helping others and liking them for who they are (and who they are is simply human beings, full stop)? Why do we complicate our lives and our minds so much (which inevitably leads to increased levels of mental stress and, consequently, illnesses)? What is it that makes us so easily irritated and even prone to violence towards others? I just don’t get it.
And in the end, how long will it take for all of us to really see and understand other people and the world in general?
As I don’t know the answers to any of these questions yet, all that’s left for me is to share with you a piece of my soul – my core beliefs shaped majorly by some of the most uplifting and humanistic lyrics ever created in history. Here is a playlist I made containing some of the most beautiful and meaningful songs out there which I trust will inspire you in a similar way 🙂
The Music Guide 